Kendal man returns dumped River Kent bikes to owners

A man who retrieves bicycles from a river has been tracking down their owners to reunite them.

Self-confessed "bike fisherman" Simon Raven has recovered about 15 bikes from the River Kent in Kendal in less than two years.

Televisions, shopping trolleys, hoover parts and sleeping bags have also been fished out of the river.

Some bikes have been refurbished and given to people who need them, free of charge.

Two of them have also been reunited with their original owners.

"It's an environmental thing," Mr Raven told BBC Radio Cumbria.

"Over the years I've noticed bits of rubbish in the river and it doesn't seem to be getting cleared up.

"I thought I'd have a go at trying to get it out and do my bit for the environment."

Mr Raven, who is retired and lives near Endmoor, said he was inspired to help by seeing local wildlife, including ducks that "don't want to be swimming around in plastic".

He said some of the bikes had been in the river for a long time and just needed to be scrapped or recycled.

However, on two occasions, Mr Raven was able to find the original owners via social media.

"Both bikes had been stolen from front gardens or somebody's yard," he said.

"One lady was using it to get to and from work, she was stuck for a while so she was very pleased. I did a bit of work to it to get it roadworthy.

"Another was a little lad's. It had been nicked and he was fairly distraught. Hopefully he's out enjoying it. I hope it doesn't get nicked again."

Mr Raven, whose visits to remove rubbish from the river were approved by the Environment Agency, urged others to also do their bit to keep the river clean.

"If all you do is come and pick up one or two bits of litter up, it would make a huge difference," he said.

Follow BBC North East & Cumbria on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].